Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment Announces $50 Million Investment to Improve Health, Well-being of Wisconsinites

Funds will support three priority areas over the next 5-10 years.

GREEN BAY, Wis., June 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) Endowment, Wisconsin's largest health philanthropy, announced it is investing $50 million in three priority areas – hypertension control, childhood behavioral health, and health workforce well-being – to accelerate improving the health and wellness of all in Wisconsin and promote health equity across the state.

This landmark investment was announced by Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, director of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment and senior associate dean at the Medical College of Wisconsin, at AHW's Advancing Health for ALL Wisconsin conference held at Lambeau Field.

"The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment is uniquely positioned to address a number of long-standing and growing health challenges in our state. This landmark investment aims to significantly move the needle and create positive, sustainable change in several areas with the greatest opportunity for impact over the next 5-10 years," said Dr. Ehrenfeld. "Beyond these critical funds, AHW's capability to engage local, state, and national experts; convene stakeholders; and provide operational support for large-scale health improvement projects can lead to broad and lasting health improvements for the people and communities we serve."

Input and feedback from statewide health partners and stakeholders, along with reviews of state and national health data and trends, informed AHW's 2024-2028 Five-Year Plan, which outlines opportunities to build signature initiatives focused on targeted health areas impacting wellness in Wisconsin. Hypertension control, childhood behavioral health, and health workforce well-being were approved as focus areas for investments up to a total of $50 million by AHW's governing bodies.

This year also marks AHW's 20^th anniversary of stewarding funds gifted to the Medical College of Wisconsin from the conversion of Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin into a for-profit company. Since issuing its first grants in 2004, AHW has invested more than $338 million in nearly 650 health-focused projects (as of June 2023).

"Funds invested by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment have helped to expand our reach and impact across the state, leading to partnerships we wouldn't have otherwise been able to accomplish," said John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, president and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin. "One of the many innovations initially supported by AHW was the creation of our regional campuses in Central Wisconsin and Green Bay, which has helped MCW to enhance and build a contemporary healthcare workforce that is addressing the maldistribution of physicians, particularly in Wisconsin's rural communities."

AHW is the only health philanthropy in the U.S. operating within a private medical school. Learn more about its history and hear perspectives on AHW's impact at https://info.ahwendowment.org/our-story.

SOURCE Medical College of Wisconsin